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The minor workers are much more numerous than the soldiers. Trails of ants lead up trunks, along branches and into the canopies of trees and debris-covered foraging tunnels with numerous entrances are created on the surface of the ground. These may be confused with similar tubes built by subterranean
487:
Bigheaded ants are a threat to biodiversity through the displacement of native invertebrate fauna and is a pest of agriculture through harvesting seeds and harbouring insects on crops. They are also known to chew on irrigation and telephone cabling as well as electrical wires. In a scientific study,
341:
which they use to crush seeds and cut up other larger pieces of food for the smaller and more numerous minor workers to transport back to the nest. The major workers are about four millimetres in length, twice as long as the minor workers. The colour of both types varies from yellowish-brown or
478:
Foraging ants will alert others to new food sources. Honeydew is ingested but other foodstuffs are carried back to the nest by both major and minor workers who may transfer items of food between themselves. Anything too big to be moved may be dissected before being brought back to the nest.
332:
There are two castes (types) of worker ants, the major worker and the minor worker. The common name of bigheaded ant derives from the major worker's disproportionately large head. Major workers are not primarily involved in defence like
451:. These sap-sucking bugs thrive in the presence of bigheaded ants, being more abundant on plants patrolled by ants than on those not so patrolled. Also, bigheaded ants are predators of the eggs of various species of moths such as the
282:. It is a very successful invasive species and is considered a danger to native ants in Australia and other places. It is regarded as one of the world's worst invasive ant species.
381:
of winged ants take place during the winter and spring and afterwards, fertilized queens shed their wings and find a suitable site to found a new colony where they start laying
349:
is two-segmented with the node immediately behind conspicuously swollen. There are a pair of short, upward-facing spines on the waist. The body has sparse, long hairs.
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The rear half of the head is smooth and glossy and the front half sculptured. The twelve-segmented antennae are curved and have club-like tips. The waist or
747:
652:
710:"Impact of Pheidole megacephala (F.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the Biological Control of Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)"
1034:
1099:
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Wilson EO. 2003. Pheidole in the New World, a
Dominant, Hyperdiverse Ant Genus. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA. 794 pp.
1199:
851:
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766:"Direct and indirect interactions between ants (Pheidole megacephala), scales (Coccus viridis) and plants (Pluchea indica)"
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377:, when a queen and workers leave the original nest and set up a new colony nearby without swarming. In Florida,
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385:. Each queen lays up to 290 eggs per month. The eggs hatch after two to four weeks and the legless white
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532:"An invasion revisited: The African big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala) in northern Australia"
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origin, big-headed ants have since spread to many tropical and subtropical parts of the world.
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748:"THE IDENTIFICATION AND IMPORTANCE OF PREDATORS OF ELDANA SACCHARINA (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE)"
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Bigheaded ants are blamed for influencing the entire food chain in the Kenya savannah.
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González-Hernández, Hector; Johnson, Marshall W.; Reimer, Neil J. (June 1999).
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about a month later. The adult workers emerge ten to twenty days after that.
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Hoffman B. 2006. Pheidole megacephala (insect). CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems
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463:, flourished when bigheaded ants protected their food source by removing
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625:. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. 2020-07-21
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687:"Port Saint Lucie and Stuart pest inspection ,Safe exterminations"
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805:"A big-headed problem drives an ecological chain reaction"
576:. Global Invasive Species Database, 3 Aug 2011 (archived)
860:
Pheidole megacephala FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions)
567:
565:
877:
369:underground. Colonies can have several queens and
361:
Minor and major workers feeding on a crumb, indoors
337:of other ant species. They have thick and powerful
530:Hoffmann, Benjamin D.; Parr, Catherine L. (2008).
293:was described from a specimen from the island of
752:The South African Sugar TechnologistsAssociation
423:The bigheaded ants feed on dead insects, small
419:Pheidole megacephala minor worker climbing tree
328:A dorsal view of a major worker bigheaded ant
40:Dorsal view of a minor worker big-headed ant
8:
304:in 1793, although a 1775 record exists for
865:
31:
20:
497:
619:"Coastal brown ants, big-headed ants"
7:
1167:795F33B0-BE06-C313-3B99-A3544D816163
1141:46538895-8b6b-42de-a4c5-b32228a6b664
1027:26178b39-f2f1-46dc-a947-c3bbd6115d7f
602:
600:
598:
596:
506:"Global Invasive Species Database"
14:
803:Gaynor, Kaitlyn M. (2024-01-26).
845:
455:, common in sub-Saharan Africa.
389:, which are fed by the workers,
49:
342:reddish-brown to nearly black.
270:. It is commonly known as the
1:
431:excreted by insects such as
764:Bach, Catherine E. (1991).
1216:
746:Leslie, G.W. (June 1988).
653:"The Pest Ants of Florida"
1195:Insects described in 1793
548:10.1007/s10530-007-9194-x
353:Colonies and reproduction
302:Johan Christian Fabricius
187:
180:
161:
154:
46:Scientific classification
44:
39:
30:
23:
821:10.1126/science.adn3484
691:greenpestservicesfl.com
453:African sugarcane borer
407:can also live indoors.
365:Bigheaded ants nest in
734:10.1006/bcon.1999.0714
587:"Wikiweb Formica edax"
420:
362:
329:
225:Oecophthora perniciosa
1200:Hymenoptera of Africa
418:
360:
327:
1022:Fauna Europaea (new)
923:Pheidole_megacephala
909:Pheidole megacephala
879:Pheidole megacephala
856:at Wikimedia Commons
853:Pheidole megacephala
623:Agriculture and Food
573:Pheidole megacephala
536:Biological Invasions
405:Pheidole megacephala
312:. Regardless of its
291:Pheidole megacephala
259:Pheidole megacephala
165:Pheidole megacephala
25:Pheidole megacephala
782:1991Oecol..87..233B
726:1999BiolC..15..145G
232:Oecophthora pusilla
147:P. megacephala
790:10.1007/BF00325261
714:Biological Control
607:Featured Creatures
421:
363:
330:
274:in the US and the
246:Pheidole laevigata
211:Myrmica suspiciosa
1177:
1176:
1149:Open Tree of Life
871:Taxon identifiers
850:Media related to
815:(6681): 370–371.
373:can be formed by
308:, under the name
276:coastal brown ant
266:in the subfamily
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693:. Archived from
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542:(7): 1171–1181.
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508:. Archived from
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262:is a species of
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840:External links
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697:on 2017-02-02.
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156:Binomial name
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657:the original
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514:. Retrieved
510:the original
500:
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473:lepidopteran
460:
449:planthoppers
422:
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310:Formica edax
309:
299:entomologist
290:
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286:Distribution
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200:Forskal 1775
197:Formica edax
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24:
18:
1061:iNaturalist
903:Wikispecies
483:Harmfulness
471:larvae and
469:lady beetle
457:Green scale
320:Description
221:Losana 1834
119:Subfamily:
103:Hymenoptera
1184:Categories
663:2010-12-22
629:2023-12-19
516:2010-12-22
492:References
445:whiteflies
268:Myrmicinae
214:Smith 1859
193:Smith 1858
123:Myrmicinae
113:Formicidae
83:Arthropoda
829:0036-8075
770:Oecologia
465:predators
441:mealybugs
411:Nutrition
339:mandibles
295:Mauritius
280:Australia
235:Heer 1852
173:Fabricius
141:Species:
69:Kingdom:
63:Eukaryota
1190:Pheidole
1079:11421977
944:BugGuide
894:Q2703952
888:Wikidata
475:larvae.
467:such as
429:honeydew
399:termites
367:colonies
335:soldiers
242:F. Smith
207:F. Smith
182:Synonyms
134:Pheidole
109:Family:
79:Phylum:
73:Animalia
59:Domain:
1040:1322635
809:Science
778:Bibcode
750:(PDF).
722:Bibcode
556:2155600
435:, soft
375:budding
347:petiole
314:African
297:by the
175:, 1793)
129:Genus:
99:Order:
93:Insecta
89:Class:
1154:799374
1138:NZOR:
1131:300850
1105:154227
1066:199356
988:PHEIME
975:599434
949:140021
827:
554:
433:aphids
391:pupate
387:larvae
1162:Plazi
1092:40133
1074:IRMNG
1014:80763
1001:87753
996:EUNIS
962:4FYFS
936:52692
552:S2CID
306:Egypt
1126:NCBI
1100:ITIS
1048:GISD
1035:GBIF
983:EPPO
931:BOLD
825:ISSN
447:and
427:and
383:eggs
249:Mayr
1113:NBN
1087:ISC
1053:132
970:EoL
957:CoL
918:AFD
817:doi
813:383
786:doi
730:doi
544:doi
278:in
264:ant
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171:(
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